A. Expanding world population with declining average fertility rates.
B. The majority of the worldÆs population and the highest fertility rates are in the Third World.
A. Declining fertility rate averages worldwide and in Third World countries.
B. Bangladesh and Kenya fertility rate declines.
C. Literacy and birth control measures.
D. Impact on Consumers and Laborers.
E. Consumers in Third World countries; labor exploitation.
B. Challenges for the future for developed and Third World countries.
The worldÆs population continues to expand. However, it is doing so at a rate that is much slower than predicted by experts a few years ago. The United Nations has lowered is global population projection by one billion for the year 2050 from 9.8 billion to 8.9 billion (Wattenberg 1998). Unfortunately, most of the rapid growth in population that is still occurring is happening in underdeveloped or Third World nations. According to Sieff (1998), almost 98 percent of the annual increase reported in 1997 occurred in the 74 countries that make up the Third World. Further, of the current 6 billion people in the planet, 80 percent of them make their home in the Third World (Sieff, 1998). While global fertility rates are dropping, they are still highest in Third World countries and lowest in developed nations like Japan, Europe and the U.S. These fertility rates have an impact on consumers and laborers in both Third World and developed countries. This analysis will now examine fertility rates in the Third World as a means of demonstrating their impact on customers and laborers in those countries and developed nations.
The worldÆs fertility rates have been dropping in both developed and Third World nations. In developed nations this creates a challenge as replacement levels of fertility are not maintained, leading to shortages of labor supply and a negative impact on productivity and economic growth. In Third Wo...